Acupuncture Points & Meridians

Chapter 4: 12 Regular Meridians, 8 Extra Meridians, and Extraordinary Points. The energy pathways of the body.

What is a Meridian?

An acupuncture channel is a pathway of energy flow connecting related points of an organ. Channels run at all levels of depth in the body, connecting us from interior to exterior, up to down, left to right. They flow between the skin and muscle, communicating with the skin surface at acupuncture points.

The 12 Regular Meridians

Six Yin and six Yang meridians, flowing bilaterally (24 in all). Each connected to its coupled meridian through a collateral (branch meridian).

Lung (Lu)

Hand Great Yin · Metal

Yin

Large Intestine (LI)

Hand Bright Yang · Metal

Yang

Stomach (St)

Foot Bright Yang · Earth

Yang

Spleen (Sp)

Foot Great Yin · Earth

Yin

Heart (H)

Hand Lesser Yin · Fire

Yin

Small Intestine (SI)

Hand Great Yang · Fire

Yang

Urinary Bladder (UB)

Foot Great Yang · Water

Yang

Kidney (K)

Foot Lesser Yin · Water

Yin

Pericardium (P)

Hand Extreme Yin · Fire (Minister)

Yin

Triple Warmer (TW)

Hand Lesser Yang · Fire (Minister)

Yang

Gall Bladder (GB)

Foot Lesser Yang · Wood

Yang

Liver (Liv)

Foot Extreme Yin · Wood

Yin

Coupled Organs (Interior-Exterior Relationship)

Each Yin organ is paired with a Yang organ. They share interior energy flow and are always diagnosed and treated together as a unit.

Heart ↔ Small Intestine

Lung ↔ Large Intestine

Liver ↔ Gall Bladder

Kidney ↔ Urinary Bladder

Spleen ↔ Stomach

Pericardium ↔ Triple Warmer

Energy-Balancing Points — Quick Reference

Each meridian has specific points for energy balancing:

Meridian	Tonify	Sedate	Luo	Yuan	Xi-Cleft	Horary
lung	Lu 9	Lu 5	Lu 7	Lu 9	Lu 6	Lu 8
pericardium	P 9	P 7	P 6	P 7	P 4	P 8
heart	H 9	H 7	H 5	H 7	H 6	H 8
spleen	Sp 2	Sp 5	Sp 4/21	Sp 3	Sp 8	Sp 3
liver	Liv 8	Liv 2	Liv 5	Liv 3	Liv 6	Liv 1
kidney	K 7	K 1 (K 5)	K 4	K 3	K 5	K 10
largeIntestine	LI 11	LI 2	LI 6	LI 4	LI 7	LI 1
tripleWarmer	TW 3	TW 10	TW 5	TW 4	TW 7	TW 6
smallIntestine	SI 3	SI 8	SI 7	SI 4	SI 6	SI 5
stomach	St 41	St 45	St 40	St 42	St 34	St 36
gallBladder	GB 43	GB 38	GB 37	GB 40	GB 36	GB 41
urinaryBladder	UB 67	UB 65	UB 58	UB 64	UB 63	UB 66

Three Levels of Yin

Lesser Yin (Shao Yin): Heart, Kidney — Yin organs with least Yin character (Heart constantly active, Kidney governs reproduction)

Great Yin (Tai Yin): Lung, Spleen — most important nourishing organs with large Yin but reasonable functional Yang

Extreme Yin (Jue Yin): Pericardium, Liver — very high Yin to Yang ratio. Also called 'unstable Yin' — when Yin increases beyond a level, it inter-transforms to Yang

Three Levels of Yang

Lesser Yang (Shao Yang): Triple Warmer, Gall Bladder — flow on the side of body and face

Great Yang (Tai Yang): Small Intestine, Urinary Bladder — most important for maintaining warmth and functional aspects

Bright Yang (Yang Ming): Large Intestine, Stomach — 'bright like the sun.' Extreme Yang organs. When Yang reaches extreme, it inter-transforms to Yin (e.g., LI 11 for high fever)

Eight Extra Meridians

Du, Ren, Motility, Belt, Vital, Protecting

Extraordinary Points

Si Shen Gong, Yin Tang, Ba Feng...

Reflect

Which meridian do you feel most drawn to study? What time of day is your energy peak and which organ governs it?

Next: Lung Meridian